A Healthier Home

East Coast urbanites once flocked to Saratoga Springs for the promised benefits of dips in the mineral waters of its famed spas. Today, the thriving Upstate New York community pulls residents from Boston to New York City attracted by what they perceive as affordable homes in a spectacular setting, says Frank Laskey, president of Capital Construction, one of the area's premier residential builders.

Inspired by the area's natural beauty, Laskey built this 3,600-square foot spec to launch his upscale, 22-home development, Louden Ridge, where he'll introduce buyers to the practical and healthful benefits of green building.

Laskey teamed up with LEED-accredited architect Michael Phinney to design this four-bedroom, 3 ½-bath house and develop plans for other custom and semi-custom homes for the 95-acre site. Phinney, who had worked with the builder on several custom green-built projects before, heads up his own multi-disciplinary architectural firm, Phinney Design Group in Saratoga Springs, that specializes in green building technologies and sustainable design for residential and commercial projects.

This home's authentic Adirondack details include deep roof overhangs, exposed timber frame construction and natural stone foundation and chimney accents that give it its distinctive eastern accent. But the project boasts more than a pretty façade, says Laskey. The home's design and materials offer higher energy efficiency, lower maintenance requirements and a healthier living environment than from a conventionally built house.

The project was the first in its region to receive the American Lung Association's Health House certification for the builder's compliance with the association's stringent list of guidelines intended to raise the standard for healthier indoor living environments.

Although Laskey aimed to incorporate green building technology into the home's design using new products and materials, he also wanted to make sure that it had plenty of curb appeal.

Classic, shaker characteristics of the historic farmhouses found throughout the area inspired the home's traditional exterior architectural style, says Phinney, who calls the home "modern shaker with an Adirondack twist."

The home's low-maintenance exterior is attractive and practical, featuring a mix of nautral and recycled-content materials.

The two-story home is designed to appeal to both move-up families and empty nesters, says Phinney. It features an open, informal floor plan with a first-floor master bedroom and a walk-out basement.

"Having the master suite on the first floor is a relatively new trend for us in the Northeast. We have a much less uniform client demographic than in other regions of the country, particularly the South and Southwest, so floor plans have to offer a lot of flexibility to attract different buyer profiles. We are finding that many retirees are staying in the area but downsizing from their larger homes. The goal was to make this home as multipurpose as possible."

"This home is a timber-frame hybrid that blends high-efficiency and conventional construction techniques," says Phinney. Structural insulated panels (SIPs) on top of the roof rafters create a seamless thermal barrier over the entire roof; that made it possible for the heavy roof framing timbers to be left exposed inside the home without the heat loss associated with conventional timber-frame construction. The walls feature conventional stud framing.

The central staircase, culminating in a beautiful cupola at its apex, functions as a thermal chimney that can be used for regulating the home's temperature.

The home site — a ridge with a southern orientation — and the desire to maximize solar energy gain dictated the position and basic geometry of the house. "We tried to put all of the key living areas on the south side of the home," says Laskey.

Other green elements of the home's construction include: a non-ozone depleting insulated concrete form (ICF) foundation; a non-petroleum based rubber polymer foundation waterproofing system; recycled, engineered-wood floor joists; a breathable vapor barrier that responds to humidity levels inside the home; recycled wood fiber cellulose insulation; recycled wood fiber cement siding; recycled content asphalt roof shingles; and high-performance insulated glass windows.

Using local products and materials is another very important element of green building that's becoming more widely recognized, says Phinney; those steps reduce transportation and fuel costs and support the local economy. "For this project, all the timber and stone came from within 100 miles of the building site."

Although the costs associated with green building are typically higher at the outset of a project, says Laskey, these will be recovered over time through reduced operating and maintenance expenses.

"Ultimately, you have to make the client aware of what the value is to them if they are going to spend more money to have a green-built, healthy home. You have to show them where the payback is for them.

"The wonderful thing about sustainable building is that there are many shades of green. You don't necessarily have to go to the level that we did for this home to gain some benefit from making green choices," Laskey says. He tells his clients the best place to put their money is into a high-efficiency HVAC system — even if it's the only green step they make.

The home, a winner of five awards during the 2004 Saratoga Showcase of Homes, was completed in September 2004 and sold in May 2005.